Probe presence of Doval in BJP-RSS meet on polls: CPI(M) to EC

The CPM on Tuesday urged the Election Commission to investigate reports about National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval attending a BJP-RSS strategy meeting for the Assembly Polls in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner A K Jyoti, CPM Tripura secretary Bijan Dhar referred to media reports about Doval's presence at a meeting chaired by senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The Sunday meeting at Singh's residence was attended by RSS senior functionary Krishna Gopal and BJP general secretary Ram Madhav - who oversees his party's affairs in the Northeast  - among others.

Quoting agency and media reports, Dhar said the meeting was convened "purely on political purpose" for evolving BJP's electoral strategy in the Assembly elections.

"The presence of any person holding a very important position, like that of National Security Advisor, is not only undesirable and objectionable, it is a glaring instance of blatant misuse of administration by the ruling party at the Centre for garnering political mileage in the elections," Dhar said in the letter.

Noting that "such misuse of administration is nothing but a real threat" to the democratic system of the country, he said, "you being an authority to oversee that no political party, either incumbent or in Opposition may   get any undue electoral opportunity by use of administration, may I request you kindly to order an appropriate authority for investigation into the matter and take stern legal measures in the event it is found fact in the investigation."

On Monday, the CPM Polit Bureau described the presence of the NSA at the meeting as a "shocking violation of norms and serious misconduct".

"How can a senior government functionary like the NSA be present in a meeting to discuss the BJP's election campaign? The Union Home Minister must immediately clarify," it had said.